A Letter Arrived in the US After 80 Years... What Is the Story Behind It?

Delayed Delivery Due to Incorrect Address on Envelope
Post Office Employee Posts Envelope Photo on SNS to Trace Recipient

A letter sent to a small town in the United States 80 years ago remained at the local post office for a long time before recently being belatedly delivered to the recipient's daughters.

On the 5th (local time), local media WIFR reported the story of a letter discovered after 80 years by the DeKalb post office, a suburb about 100 km from Chicago, and delivered to the recipient's family. At the end of last year, an employee of this post office accidentally found a letter dated June 23, 1943, within the jurisdiction. The recipients of this letter were the couple Louis and Lavina Joji.

A letter sent in June 1943 and delivered after 80 years [Image source=WIFR broadcast screen capture, Yonhap News]

The address on the envelope only included the city and street name, but no house number. The post office explained that because of this, the letter was not delivered immediately and remained at the post office. The employee who found the letter took a photo of the envelope and posted it on social media while searching for the Joji family. Surprisingly, they were able to contact Grace, the daughter of the Joji couple living in Portland, Oregon, and the letter was delivered to another daughter, Jinette.

The letter's content was 'comforting a cousin couple who lost their first daughter to illness'

Jinette, who received the letter, said, "The sudden appearance of a 'letter from the past' surprised everyone," adding that it was "an unbelievable event." The letter, arriving after 80 years, was sent by a cousin to comfort the Joji couple who had lost their child.

Jinette explained about the letter, "It was sent by my father's cousin couple living in Amboy, Illinois, to comfort my parents after they lost their first daughter, Evelyn, to cystic fibrosis," adding, "It gave me a chance to reflect on the grief and loss my parents must have felt before I was even born." She continued, "It made me feel even more grateful for the relatives surrounding me," and added, "It made me think more about the continuity of life and family."

The recipients, Louis and Lavina, were born in 1911 and 1913 respectively, married young at ages 21 and 19 in 1932, and lived together for over 50 years. It is reported that the couple passed away in 1986 and 2012, respectively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.